Rise of the Triad is the totally not a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D that had the unfortunate lucky to come out after Doom, relegating it to the obscure FPS's list. It's a shame, because there's a lot of fairly advanced technical stuff going on in the game. It does have a lot of rough edges, though, and not just because of the Wolfenstein engine.

Now, the game was obviously supposed to be a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D. The enemies you fight in the first three episodes all look like they would be appropriate in a Wolfenstein game, and only one sound bite (Infidel!) is a nod to the actual plot of the game, which is something about a cult using magic to get a guy? I dunno, it's the barest of excuse plots. But then Doom came out and billing yourself as a Wolfenstein sequel was a guarantee that no one would pay attention. So they gave it a fourth episode and a not Wolfenstein plot in the hopes that people would give it a chance. They didn't.

Now, since it's on the Wolfenstein engine, they're forced to use a block-based level design. However, unlike Wolfenstein this game has lots of wide open areas and it makes major usage of the Z axis; I'd say it makes better use of it than Doom does. The game makes use of it in two ways. One is jump pads, which can be used to get across barriers or just to get up somewhere high. The second is the fact that they have lots of floating platforms all over the place. These can be walked on top of and underneath if they're high enough. That doesn't sound impressive, but at the time it was unheard of. This let them get some creative level design in even though they were restricted to more blocky architecture.

The game also is very much on the arcade side of things. Your primary weapons are a pistol, dual pistols, and an MP40, all of which have infinite ammo and no reloading. You also can carry a single secondary weapon which consists of a series of missile launchers and a couple of magic items. These secondary weapons do heavy damage and are required to kill bosses and robots. Additionally, there are several powerups and power downs you can get in the game, such as flight, god mode, dog mode, mushroom mode, and bouncy mode. It all lends to a bit more of a sillier atmosphere compared to Doom.

Unfortunately, the game's rough edges are frustrating at times. The level design relies heavily on traps and moving walls (and moving walls that are on fire) which can lead to a lot of bullshit deaths. Speaking of bullshit, starting in episode 2 you encounter the Enforcer, who has way too much health, has a high damage machine gun, and can throw grenades. If you don't engage them immediately with either heavy artillery or MP40 to stunlock them they will quickly take you out. This wouldn't be so bad if they weren't such bullet sponges. The monks in the fourth episode are worse; they have as much health and do as much damage, but they make almost no noise. If you come out of a door facing the wrong way the first time you realize there's an enemy is when you take a fireball in the back that nearly kills you. It feels like a lot of fake difficulty. Also, the third boss is utterly stupid in its difficulty and the final boss has to be refought if you don't grab a hidden flight powerup, hit two switches, and go to an area behind the boss arena you need to fly into to trigger his final death.

A flawed but fun FPS from the old days.

Games Beaten: 2015201620172018Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.

I was very hesitant about pre-ordering this one. Knowing that it was multiplayer-only, I waited until the first Titanfall dropped below $10 to pick it up, and when I did, I got exactly what I expected - a decent online shooter with some cool giant robots and pretty much nothing else noteworthy about it. Call of Duty with robots: that's what it felt like to me. There was so much missed potential. Robots are freakin' awesome. Think what a cool single player campaign they could have make with that source material! So when I heard that Titanfall 2 was getting a campaign, I was intrigued. As I started to see teasers and screenshots and read early reviews, I decided that I'd give it a shot. I'm a junkie for sci-fi stories, so I'd stick my neck out for this one. I am not disappointed.

The story revolves around your character's field promotion from rifleman to pilot and his inheritance of the Titan BT-7274 when a mission goes horribly wrong and basically everyone you know is brutally massacred. One design choice that I have to complement right off the bat is how often the giant robot is used under your control. It's not shoehorned in so that you're ALWAYS in the robot, but it's not just a gimmick that gets used like three times, either. The game is pretty even between traditional FPS combat outside of your Titan and actually controlling your mobile WMD. That balance could very easily have been skewed one way or the other, but the devs managed to keep it right in that Goldilocks spot.

The campaign's length is right about what you'd expect from an FPS - around 7 hours - and if you can look past the cliché Optimus Prime-esque voice of the BT, it's a really enjoyable and engrossing experience. The combat feels fantastic, and the weapons are a joy to use. The wallrunning and double jumping also make Titanfall 2 one of the few first person shooters I've played that included platforming sections that were legitimately fun and not a royal pain in the ass.

Yall know that I'm a gamer focused almost entirely on single player, but I did play a round or two of the multiplayer, and I've got to say, I'm extremely impressed. Not often am I truly impressed with FPS multiplayer. The only two FPS multiplayer modes of this gen that I can think of that truly impressed me were Battlefield 1 and this. Don't get me wrong, there have been a good number that were good, but actually impressing me is hard for an FPS multiplayer. I think the last game before this month to do so was Conduit 2.

Titanfall 2 isn't a masterpiece, and it probably won't be one of the stand-out games from this generation a decade or two down the line, but it's a DAMN good shooter both online and off. If you're into sci-fi stories or first person shooters, don't miss out on this one. Maybe wait for a price drop to $40 if you're not planning to do any multiplayer, but don't forego it entirely.

Whew, that's done. ActRaiser 2 is a completely different game from its progenitor. As opposed to sim-lite elements mixed in with passable (and relatively easy) action-platforming, this one goes all-in on the platforming. Furthermore, it amps up the difficulty significantly, both in how fragile you are and how technical the moveset is. Seriously, if you thought the double-jump stuff in Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts was tricky at times, just wait for this one. Sure, you can change direction in mid-air, but your double jump sends you into a soaring dive. You can keep gliding, hold up to float down, press down to dive quickly, and there are slash moves that can go with all of them.

There's also a magic system here. Each spell costs one MP, and to use them, you charge up by holding the attack button, and the direction you hold and the action you're taking (standing, jumping, double-jumping, diving, etc.) determines what comes out. The triple bomb shot with standing-up works really nicely on several bosses.

You're going to take a lot of hits from enemies, since they're often quite unpredictable, pop up out of nowhere, or far outclass the hero's speed. I save-stated the heck out of this one, although I really started getting a feel for the hero's moveset as I went, and you can keep going at a stage until you succeed. You can thankfully save your progress via passwords, 'cause it's a pretty sizable game. The longplays I see out there are around two hours, which means if you're unfamiliar with it you could spend a good bit more time with the game.

The game itself looks absolutely spectacular. Seriously, it's one of the nicest-looking SNES games out there. Yuzo Koshiro comes back to do the score again, and while it's not as good as the first game, it's still suitably epic.

So, long story short, if you like super-tough, technical platformers, this one should be awesome for you. I suspect fans of Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts might really cotton to this one... or maybe I'm drawing too many parallels coming off of that game. 8/10, and I could see it becoming even more of a favorite if I take the time to master it.

Nice screens Sarge. I was kind of planning on whenever a Castlevania-esque mood strikes again I could hit that one up since I've never finished it or played much, but you make a lot more comparisons to SGnG? Guess it's closer to that in design and style or something?

A little boy, his dog, and his grandpa relax in their living room. Suddenly a dark force infests the home, possessing the grandpa, and expelling the young boy away from their house. However, this is no ordinary boy, this is Bulb Boy, a kid with a light bulb for a head. Using his unusual illuminating powers, and his sadistic pleasure to hurt others, Bulb Boy sets out to save his grandpa and rid their house of evil.

For the first two thirds of this horror adventure, the gameplay revolves around puzzle solving via item usage. The last third consists of Bulb Boy navigating escape scenes and trap laden tunnels. Sometimes there are boss battles, often times Bulb Boy dies, and the entire play is punctuated by a truly demented sense of humor. Surreal macabre graphics and otherworldly music bring the atmosphere to life convincingly. Controls are simple and intuitive.

At times Bulb Boy has moments of legitimate genius, with its touching flashbacks of a boy, his dog, and an old granddad. But it's equally perverse, with gory violence and disgusting concepts in general. It's unfortunate then, that the final parts of Bulb Boy rely so heavily on trial and error action, rather than the more entertaining puzzle set-pieces of the start. Also the "bulb" part of the equation isn't as developed as it should have been. But this was such a unique experience, I'd still recommend it, missteps and all. You can't help but fall in love with Bulb Boy's squeals of evil glee.

A fitting day for a game I long have been wanting to beat since I first played it. I'll admit the GBA version makes it easier with saving and no slowdown, but it's still the same game that frustrates you to no end. If you know your way through it won't be nearly as difficult as earlier entries.

Xeogred wrote:The obvious answer is that it's time for the Dreamcast 2.